Determination of the Redfield Remineralization Ratios Based on Neutral Surface Analysis of the New Global Data Set

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ABSTRACTOCE-9819144 / OCE-9903391In this study, investigators from Princeton University and Oregon State University will use the new, high-quality nutrient data set obtained during NOAA-OACES and WOCE field studies to refine estimates of the relative amounts of phosphorous, nitrogen, and carbon generated during the decomposition, or remineralization, of marine organic matter - the so-called Redfield Ratio (P:N:C). The Redfield Ratio is not a new concept; in fact, it has been used, and its approximate value has been known, for decades. Ocean scientists have relied on estimates of the Ratio to calculate a values of a variety of unmeasured biogeochemical values from the values of ones that have been measured. Analysis of the high-quality nutrient data sets generated in recent years demands that the Redfield estimate be improved, and this is what this team of investigators intends to do. An optimal multi-parameter technique will also be developed to determine ratio endpoints for application to modeling of biogeochemical data collected during the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS) as well as from OACES and WOCE. The technique will be applied to twenty neutral-density layers in each ocean basin to achieve some idea of the global variability as well as a global averaged Redfield value.